KHẢO SÁT SỰ THAY ĐỔI NGƯỠNG ĐAU VÙNG MẶT KHI NHĨ CHÂM TRÊN NGƯỜI TÌNH NGUYỆN KHỎE MẠNH

Abstract

This pilot study was conducted to investigate changes in facial pain threshold in healthy volunteers after applying Auricular Acupuncture in the acupoints on both auricles. Thirty three healthy volunteers with hemodynamic indexes within normal limits were randomly allocated into 2 groups to receive auricular acupuncture treatment at Shenmen (TF4), Nervous Subcortex (AT4), Jaw (LO3) and Tooth (LO1) of either the left or the right auricle (phase 1). Seven days later, participants received sham acupuncture at the same points (phase 2). The facial pain threshold on the right side of both groups after auricular acupuncture increased significantly compared with the pain threshold before needle attachment (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference was detected in the sham acupuncture phase. The facial pain threshold of the same side of the auricle that received acupuncture were significantly higher than the other side (p<0.05). This suggests that Auricular Acupuncture can be used as a non-pharmacological adjunct to facial pain relief.